The Trustees and the Phiri Award for Farm & Food Innovators, and the members of Muonde Trust announce with great sadness today the passing (following a massive stroke) of the master himself, the great spirit that was Zephaniah Phiri. He will be buried September 3rd at his home in Mapanzure (Runde). Born in 1927 [...]Read Full Article →

In common with many other semi-arid regions the ancestral agricultural system in Mazvihwa was not based on extensive dryland farming but instead focused around the intensive use of natural wetlands – makuvi or dambos in the hills and majeke riverbank gardens in the plains. Elaborate systems of trenches and furrows were dug by hand with [...]Read Full Article →

This historic film is from one of the pioneers of video for development in Southern Africa, Dan Ticehurst, and was made at Mr Phiri’s farm in 1988/89, and recently in 2014 generously rediscovered and shared by him.Read Full Article →

The first Phiri Award ceremony was held on October 24th, 2014 at the Baraza Pavilion in Harare, in the presence of its Patron, Mr. Zephaniah Phiri, his wife Constance and eighty guests. The day went admirably – ably MC’d by Tsitsi Choruma – with guest of honor, distinguished rural development thinker Rev. Peter Baka Nyoni, [...]Read Full Article →

Below, Frank Loewen describes the making of his film, The Rainwater Harvester. Mr Phiri’s experience in Improving Dryland Management, featuring Zephaniah Phiri Maseko, Cleopas Banda, and Julious Piti “With a background in forestry, I have been working for many years in rural development projects dealing with environmental restoration and the promotion of integrated natural resource [...]Read Full Article →

Renowned indigenous permaculturalist, Mr. Zephaniah Phiri from Zvishavane, describes the lack of rainfall in the semi-arid natural region four in Zimbabwe and the good results he’s had with his water harvesting pits that gather and infiltrate what falls in the few major storms they receive. Mixing his humourous style with penetrating questions, and an eye [...]Read Full Article →